I'm a Girl
by pyroesque26
Summary: Max is sick of always being thought of as a guy. But it ends now.


I'm a Girl

_A/N: Um let's see. I was bored, I was watching The Suite Life this afternoon, really liked how pretty Max was and thought, 'Yeah, maybe I'll write something under this category.' So yeah. I don't know Max's real name, so I gave her full name as Maxine. I don't know the mascot of their school, or the name of their school, so yeah, I'll probably just use something out of High School Musical, or basically, any of the Disney Channel stuff. So, on with the story._

_Summary: Max is sick of always being seen as a boy. But that ends tonight._

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Suite Life._

_Boys. Who needs them?_

Max shoved her textbooks into her locker in anger, breathing deeply to try and keep herself calm. Sixteen years old, and still she was ridiculed for playing basketball. She could beat half of the guys on the team if she wanted to! She especially didn't like how people mistook her for a guy. Her hand bunched into a fist. She took one last breath and let it out slowly.

_Stay calm, Maxine. Stay calm. They're not worth it_, she thought to herself.

She looked down the hallway to the sound of laughter. She rolled her eyes and focused on the task at hand: get textbooks, and get to class, simultaneously avoiding the basketball team and their entourage of cheerleaders.

Slamming her locker door shut, she hurriedly walked down the hallway, making faint squeaks on the for-now clean floor.

"Max! Hey, Max, wait up!"

"Great," she muttered to herself. _Just what I needed. The pity act from non other than Zack Martin_. "Yes, Zack?" She smiled sweetly at him. In her mind, she rolled her eyes.

"Hey, look, I hope you're not mad about what we said earlier. You know we were just joking," he said, putting an arm around her shoulders and walked with her down the hall.

Zack was so much taller than her now. She guessed it was from all the years of basketball practice. Or his mother's genes.

"No, of course not, Zack. Why would I be?" she said, still continuing to talk in the overly-sweet voice. "After all, I _am_ a girl, and all I'm supposed to do is play with dolls and paint my toe nails," she said, snapping at the last four words. She jerked his arm from around her and stalked away.

Zack stared after her, confused, before jogging up to catch up to her. "Max, what's going on?"

"Nothing, Zack," Max mumbled, crossing her arms and looking at her feet.

"Max, you've been one of my closest friends for four years now. You can tell me anything," he said, shoving his hands into his pocket.

_Yeah, sure, anything. I haven't been able to talk to you for two years, _she thought dejectedly.

"Look, if it's about the basketball thing, I'm sorry," he said. "Max, come on, look at me." She'd been walking in front of him all this time, and it annoyed him that all he got to see was her back.

Max whirled around and Zack was surprised to find that tears were forming in her eyes. "It's not just about the basketball thing, Zack. It's everything. You just – you haven't been around for ages. You're always caught up in basketball. We barely even talk anymore!"

"We're talking now," he said, slightly intimidated. He couldn't remember the last time he saw her cry. It almost made him feel guilty for not stopping his teammates' earlier jesting on his friend.

"This," she said, gesturing the empty space between them while pointing at each other, "is _not_ talking, Zack. _This_, is a pathetic attempt at apologizing to me." She took a deep breath. "Ever since we were thirteen, you only ever saw me, and knew me as a guy. Not as a girl, but just as the other guys. Even after the floral printed shirts, the skirts, the make up, everything! You still saw me as one of the guys. I know, Zack, that boys' have the emotional span of a squirrel!" Max knew it was harsh, but it hurt, and when she was hurt, she didn't stop ranting. "But maybe for once, just this once, Zack, see me for someone who's not just 'one of the other guys'. See me as me. As Maxine. Not Max. Maxine." She gave him one last look before turning around and hurrying to her class.

Zack stared after Max. When had she become such a girl? He had liked her as she was, when she was playing basketball with him, even though some times he didn't think she was a good enough player just because of her gender. He realized now it wasn't fair to her. It wasn't Max's fault that she was born as a girl.

He ran a hand through his unruly hair. The warning bell sounded and he ran towards his class, resolving to talk to Max after school. If she didn't avoid him completely from now on, that is.

He didn't pay any attention at all in Chemistry, which was thankfully his last class of the day. While daydreaming, he finally just realized that the only class he had with Max was homeroom. How had he never noticed it before? Sure, Cody always told him how much of an airhead he sometimes was, but he always thought that his twin was only joking.

The last bell finally rang and he hurriedly walked down the halls, maneuvering between the students to get to Max before she walked out of the school doors. He would have gotten there sooner if one of his teammates hadn't

"Hey, Zack! Where are you going? We've got practice!" Larry called.

"Yeah, uh, tell the coach my mom called and she needs me at home," he called back. It wasn't his best excuse, but it would have to do.

"Whatever, man. Just remember that the coach is gonna fry your butt for missing another practice."

"Yeah, later, man."

Zack quickly retreated from Larry and skidded to a stop in front of Max's locker. There was no sign of Max though. He looked around and his eye caught on the familiar black hoodie that she wore that morning and her brown hair.

"Max!"

He saw her freeze, but then her steps quickened. He started to run after her when he was stopped by a flock of cheerleaders, and he cursed silently under his breath. These distractions were starting to become really, really, really annoying.

"Look, ladies," he said, putting on his Mr Manners voice. "I've really gotta run. I'll see you all tomorrow."

They giggled, and Zack had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. All cheerleaders ever did was giggle and pose. After saluting them, he ran out of the doors, but any sign of Maxine was long gone.

_Oh, yes, Max, you want him to see you as a girl and yet you're here, playing basketball. Smart,_ Max thought to herself, shooting the basketball in her hands that went into the basket with a swish.

It was about two hours after school let out. She heard Zack's shout but chose to ignore it. After all, boys were pretty good at ignoring things they didn't want to hear. And since she was basically one of the guys, why not be one?

She sighed. She knew it was childish, but she just really didn't want to see him then. What good would it have done? He would try to apologize again, and she would chew him out. It always was like that.

She felt something drop onto her head, and prayed that it wasn't a bird dropping. She looked down at the ground and saw the raindrops gently fall onto it. She hated how the weather could reflect your mood. It was annoying, because every time she was hurt and angry on account of Zack, the skies decided that it wanted to turn grey and rain.

It also meant that she had to go home to her dysfunctional family.

She grabbed her basketball and turned to leave, but froze when she saw a familiar blonde.

"Your mom told me you'd be here," Zack said.

"What are you doing here, Zack?" Despite the fact that she wanted him to be here, she wanted him to disappear. She couldn't bear the hurt right now. And her heart was pounding much too fast.

"I wanted to talk, Max," he said, shrugging.

"It's going to rain," she argued.

"I don't mind."

"Aren't you supposed to be at practice?" She was trying to find a way out of talking to him.

"I skipped it," he answered simply. "Because I wanted to come and find you." He gestured towards the basketball in her hand. "Wanna play one on one?"

"Not really," she said. The question was out of the blue. That, and the fact that they hadn't played basketball together in ages.

"Fine with me."

"Okay then." She made a move to leave but somehow, her legs were cemented to the floor. A part of her wanted to hear what he had to say. Maybe, in her mind, she wanted him to confess his love for her. That he was wrong for ever thinking of her as one of the guys.

But if he was too blind to see that she liked him, then maybe she should make the first move, like she did three years ago.

"Zack, I have to tell you something," she started.

"Go on then."

The pair started moving towards each other.

"You know, how I – um – how I kissed you after that basketball game three years ago in middle school, and – um – after that date that we went on, when I told you that I don't like you, like you anymore?"

"Yeah," he nodded. They were in front of each other right now. Zack marveled at how her brown eyes shone as the rain continued to slowly fall around them.

"Well, I think, right now, I think I might still like you, like you," she said the last part slowly. Her heart continued to pound, and she felt the heat rise in her cheeks.

Zack felt his heart flutter slightly and his insides churn with nervousness. She liked, liked him? But what about him? Did he like her, like her, too? He always did, and he'd been disappointed when she didn't like, like him any more.

He started thinking back on their old times together. How could he have been so blind to never see the transformation? It was always right there, right in front of his eyes. The way her hair shone now, and the way her eyes sparkled with warmth and happiness whenever she was talking about something she enjoyed and was passionate about. The way she dedicated herself to basketball, even if the basketball team did put her down a lot.

How had he been so blind to see that he had still liked her, liked her all this time?

He smiled gently at her. "Well, guess what?"

"What?"

"I think I still like you, like you, too," he said softly.

He bent forward at the same time she did. His eyes fluttered close and their lips met gently. He could feel the hesitancy, and when his hand reached out to touch her arm so as to bring her close, it was tense. But when he finally closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her, and finally feeling her respond and her arms wrapping around his shoulders, it was bliss.

Pure bliss.

They broke apart and for some reason they laughed.

"I feel like we're in a movie or something," she said, pressing her forehead against his.

"Yeah, it feels like it," he said. "So what happens now?"

"I don't know."

They were silent for a while. "Well, if we're going to date," Zack started.

"If we're going to start dating," she continued for him, "you're gonna have to remember I'm a girl, okay?"

"Well, duh! I don't swing that way!" Zack joked.

Max rolled her eyes at him. "Say it with me. Max is a girl."

He looked at her face fondly.

"You're a girl, Maxine."

End.


End file.
